Two looked and sounded genuinely sick, but six men appeared suspicious.

Jason said: "None of the six looked sick. They were not coughing or sniffling. They didn't even bother to pretend."

Each of them spent about one minute in the doctor's office. Yet, they all left with three or four bottles of cough syrup containing codeine in white plastic bags, said Jason.

Said Jason, a first-time patient of the clinic: "As a doctor, I thought he should save people (and) not ruin people's lives."

Jason decided to alert TNP, which performed its own investigation recently. (See report below.)

SUPPLIES

The undergrad says his suspicions were confirmed after he asked one of the "patients" why the clinic had sold him so many bottles of cough mixture. The man, who looked to be in his 30s, allegedly told Jason that the clinic was a place where addicts get their "supplies".

A few days later, Jason "tested" what he learnt from the addict.

After seeing the same doctor, he managed to buy three bottles of cough mixture - each in a 90ml plastic bottle - for $90.

Jason said: "Only one bottle was labelled. And I was given a receipt which did not say what I had paid for."

'Cough' patient gets no receipt, no labels and no explanation

DENIAL: The doctor (in blue shirt) who allegedly prescribes cough syrup denied any wrongdoing when he was recently confronted by The New Paper. He says that all his medicines are labelled.

VISIT: A man leaving the clinic with what appears to be three 90ml bottles. He was earlier overheard bargaining with a female clinic staff member.

VISIT: A man leaving the clinic with what appears to be three 90ml bottles. He was earlier overheard bargaining with a female clinic staff member.

I usually prescribe after a consultation. I usually give smaller bottles in case they want more and don't need them.

- The clinic's doctor denying that he had been lax in giving out cough mixture

When The New Paper visited the clinic, we found the doctor's behaviour suspicious.

Despite the reporter having no cough symptoms, he was given two unlabelled bottles of cough mixture, for which he was charged a hefty $70, without a receipt.

TNP had recently decided to investigate Jason's claims and visited the clinic armed with an audio recorder and a video camera.

Our aim was to buy cough mixture which contained codeine - a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act - and investigate if the clinic had been lax in dispensing the drug. Only doctors and licensed pharmacists are authorised to dispense cough medicine containing codeine, limiting a patient to 240ml per visit.

BARGAINING

At the counter, I observed a male patient "bargaining" with a female staff member.

The man was later photographed exiting the clinic with three bottles of an unidentified dark-coloured substance which he supposedly paid $70 for.

My consultation with the doctor lasted around three minutes.

I complained of coughing, losing my voice and an itchy nose.

But I never once coughed in his presence. I only spoke in a low voice.

The middle-aged doctor took my temperature and listened to my chest. He did not check my throat.

And then, he asked me the question I was waiting for: "So, what do you want?"